Rep. Murphey's Prophetic Warning of 2015 Budget

As the summer of 2015 rolled along, SoonerPolitics contacted Rep. Jason Murphey to congratulate him on once again attaining the highest score in the Oklahoma Constitution's conservative Index.     We talked about the budget and the philosophy guiding his voting. ​   He made a dire warning that the 2016 budget would lack about a billion dollars in funding. He had the same access to the same facts that every other legislator has. Yet he was about the only one warning us. ​ Here is that interview...

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"Next year we may have about one billion  dollars less than we appropriated this year. It was incredibly  irresponsible!" Rep. Jason Murphey - July, 2015

Rep. Jason Murphey Masters The Art of Representation     Once again the Oklahoma Constitution Newspaper has released their annual Legislative scoring report. The Conservative Index is the most established Oklahoma legislator scoring system. They carefully pick a set of 10 key pieces of legislation which collectively indicate the conservative mindset (or lack thereof).  And once again Rep. Jason Murphey  has 'aced' the test.   Look for the Conservative Index Annual Report, from the Oklahoma Constitution Newspaper. You may subscribe, here: http://www.oklahomaconstitution.com/ns.php?index=1      I called Jason and we visited about this past session.   Jason agreed to give us a few minutes of his time for a question/answer session. Here's our dialogue; Sooner Politics: You keep scoring so well in the Oklahoma Constitution's Conservative Index. How do you do it? Re. Jason Murphey: Well, thank you. I use a checklist for each bill that comes before me. It's really not that hard if you can learn to accept that your friends might not like how you voted. My duty is to ask myself what my own motivation is, and keep asking myself tough questions about what is motivating me.   The budget itself was incredibly irresponsible! We depended so much on one-time funding sources. Next year we may have about one billion dollars less than we appropriated this year. It was incredibly irresponsible! Sooner Politics: Can you share that checklist with us? Re. Jason Murphey: Sure!    Is it a corporate welfare bill?  Is it a new government program? Is it a new government regulation? Does it create yet another agency? Does it create a new tax burden? If the answer is 'yes' to any of those questions, then my vote is 'no'.     Sooner Politics: Are there any votes from this past session in which you wish you could recast your vote? Re. Jason Murphey: Well, I seem to recall one. It was a bill which dealt with insurance regulation. It went into great detail about how an insurance company deals with coverage of various medical treatments. After the bill went to the other house, one of the senators; I think it was Nathan Dahm?... anyway, someone got back to me and said the senator asked a great question about whether the state has a legitimate role in dictating which coverage an insurance policy must provide. I'm not sure where the bill ended up, but I recall how I, in hind sight, wished I'd done a better job.   Sooner Politics: Aren't there always going to be scenarios where more details emerge after the legislation is voted on? Where event, discoveries, and other developments lead you to wish the matter was reconsidered? Re. Jason Murphey: Oh, yes! And you have to just accept that reality.   Sooner Politics: What legislative developments are you most disappointed about, from this session? Re. Jason Murphey: The Bond Issues! Oklahoma is going further in debt and I really don't think the people realize this!    Sooner Politics: What else were you disappointed in? Re. Jason Murphey: The budget itself It was incredibly irresponsible! We depended so much on one-time funding sources. Next year we may have about one billion dollars less than we appropriated this year. It was incredibly irresponsible!   Read more: http://soonerpolitics.blogspot.com/2015/07/rep-jason-murphey-masters-art-of.html#ixzz48srV9qc8